MEET FORMAT: The meet will be conducted as Trials and Finals
(championship, consolation and bonus) in all individual events except the 1000
and 1650 yard
freestyle events, which will be timed finals. Postive check-in for the 1650
Y Freestyle will be by 5 PM on Thursday, and by 8:30 AM, on Sunday, for the
1000 Y Freestyle. The top heat of the 1000 Yard Freestyle will be swum in the
Finals session on Sunday evening. Relays will be swum at the end of the Finals
Session. At the discretion of the Meet Referee there will be a 10 minute break
between the end of finals and the start of the relays. Heat sheets will be
posted around the pool deck and coaches will be able to pick up heat sheets
for each session in the control office prior to the start of each session.
Coaches are responsible for ensuring that their swimmers are in the correct
heat and lane.

FACILITY: Blodgett Pool is an 8 lane, 25 yard competition
course (7 foot depth) with a shallower 6 lane warm-up and warm-down course,
with non-turbulent
lane
lines, a Colorado Timing System and Scoreboard. The facility has ample seating
and all members of New England Swimming, and all spectators, are restricted
to the pool, stands and the concession area. Only people with the proper credentials
will be allowed on deck.

DIRECTIONS: From the Mass Pike, get off at the Cambridge/Allston
exit. Take the Cambridge ramp. Just before crossing the bridge into Cambridge,
turn left
onto the Storrow Drive entrance ramp. Go straight through the next intersection
and take the next exit, marked Harvard Square, Cambridge. At the light at the
top of the ramp, turn left onto North Harvard Street. The pool is the first
building on the right. The pool is bounded on the south by Harvard Stadium,
on the east by No. Harvard Street, and on the north by Storrow Drive. Swimmers
should be dropped off at the pool gate on No. Harvard Street.

PARKING: After
dropping the swimmers at the gate on No. Harvard St., proceed down to the parking
lot entrance, across the street, to the Harvard Business School Parking Lot.
It is a 5 minute walk to the pool. This will be in effect for all four days
of the meet. Only cars with parking passes will be allowed
to park around the stadium. All others will be towed. Street
parking
is
limited, but allowed in available spaces. If these guidelines are not adhered
to, we
will be in jeopardy of losing the use of the Harvard pool for meets. Please
do not park around the stadium.

ELIGIBILITY: All swimmers must be 2003 USA Swimming
registered with New England Swimming. Swimmers may register with Mary Riddell,
20 Cleveland Rd.,Needham,
MA 02492. Age eligibility is determined by age of the swimmer on March 6, 2003.
All coaches on the deck must be registered with US Swimming and display their
current coaches membership cards. Swimmers must have participated in at least
one New England Calendar meet in the last 11 months in order to participate
in the meet.

ENTRY INFORMATION: A swimmer may enter a maximum of
nine (9) individual events with no more than three (3) events per day, including
Time Trials. Entry times
must be achieved between February 16, 2002 and the entry deadline of February
25, 2003. Meter times will be seeded after the yard times. All meter times
must be circled in red pen on the entry form. All entries, on diskette, hand
written, or emailed, must be received by 5:00 PM, Tuesday, February
25, 2003. Email entries with a standard SD3 or CL2 data file
of your team’s
entries attached are encouraged, provided a hardcopy of the entry, with
a signed entry
cover sheet, arrives on or before the entry deadline of Tuesday,
February 25, 2003. Email entries to Carol Healey at healeymay@attbi.com.
In the text of the email write all contact information, including team name,
coaches name,
contact person and phone numbers. An entry will NOT be accepted without the
hard copy and payment. Payment is due by Saturday, March 1, 2003. NO
EXCEPTIONS. No fax entries will be accepted. All hard copies and checks should
be sent
by US Postal Service certified mail, or hand delivered. Please check the "no
signature required" box on overnight deliveries. All entries must be typed
or legibly printed and must include all swimmer's USA Swimming numbers and
ages. If there is a discrepancy between the hard copy and the electronic entry,
the hard copy will be used as the official meet entry. Send the entries to:
Carol Healey, 47 May Street, Needham, MA 02492, (781) 444-2014. Short Course
Meter times must be converted to Yard times by using the 0.9049
multiplier. Indicate on the entry form as conforming yard times.

RELAYS: All
relays will be limited to two (2) per club for the 800 Free Relay and four
(4) per club for the 400 Free and 400 Medley relays. A team may enter
relays according to the number of swimmers per sex entered in individual
events. For each sex, the number of qualified individual swimmers entered in
individual
events will be divided by four up to the 2 or 4 relay maximum. A team with
16 or more qualified swimmers of one sex entered in individual events may
enter 4 relays; a team with 12 to 15 qualified swimmers of one sex entered
in individual
events may enter 3 relays; a team with 8 to 11 qualified swimmers of one
sex entered in individual events may enter 2 relays; a team with 4 to 7 qualified
swimmers on one sex entered in individual events may enter 1 relay. All swimmers
on these relays must be qualified swimmers who are entered in one or more
individual
events.

A team that has only 1, 2, or 3 qualified swimmers per sex entered
in individual events may add enough non-qualified swimmers to enter 1 relay
per event.
If a qualified swimmer is unable to swim and there is no other qualified
swimmer
available, the relay must be scratched. Under no circumstance will a swimmer
who is 12 years old or under be allowed to swim in a relay unless that
swimmer has qualified in an individual event.

No more than two relays per team may score in an event.

TIME TRIALS: Time trials
will be available at the discretion of the meet referee and meet director,
and if time allows, after the Trials sessions on Friday,
Saturday and Sunday. All time trial swimmers must provide three timers for
their swims. Time trials are $5 for individual events and $10 for relays.

DISTANCE EVENTS: The 1000 Yard and 1650 Yard Freestyles will
be swum fastest to slowest, alternating heats of women and men. All distance
swimmers must
provide at least two timers with watches, and one counter for their swims.
The final heat of the 1000 Yard Freestyle will be swum in the Finals Session
of Sunday evening. Positive check-in for the 1000 Y Free will be by 8:30 AM
on Sunday morning.

VERIFICATION & RULES: Refer to the verification information
provided by New England Swimming. The 2003 USA Swimming rules will govern except
as otherwise
stated herein and the decision of the referee will be final. Disabled swimmer
forms are required by US Swimming and are available from the New England Swimming
Office. All swimmers participating in the meet without a USA Swimming registered
coach shall report to the referee before warm-ups prior to each session.

SCRATCHES:Thursday events: The 1650 Y Free on Thursday evening will be a Positive
Check-In, by 5:00 pm in the pool control office. Scratches beforehand are encouraged. Friday events: Scratch at the pool on Thursday evening before 6:00
pm, or call, on Thursday evening, between 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm: 617-495-5213.
Scratches beforehand
are strongly encouraged. Saturday/Sunday events: Scratch deadline is 6:00 pm
the night before the event, in the control office. Scratches for Finals will
be 30 minutes after the finalists are announced during the Trials Session.
The 1000 Y Free is a positive check-in by 8:30 AM on Sunday.
NO EMAILED SCRATCHES WILL BE ACCEPTED after 5:00 pm, Wednesday, March 5th.
If you have scratches before then, please email them to Carol Healey at healeymay@attbi.com and write “SCRATCHES from “team name” in the subject line.

SPECIAL
NOTES:

Coaches are expected to understand the scratch, verification and relay
rules before the meet begins.

Any swimmer who fails to compete in an individual
event in which he/she is entered and has not been scratched will be barred
from further competition
that day, including time trials and relays. The swimmer will automatically
be scratched from the following day's events unless the Clerk of Course
has been notified of the swimmer's intention to compete, by 6:00 PM.

Any
relay team that does not scratch (per above), or is not excused by the
Meet Referee, must swim that event. If the relay team does not appear
behind
the blocks ready to compete, each member of the relay team will be
barred from competing in the next individual event that they are entered
in,
as well as
the next relay.

AWARDS: Medals will be awarded for the first 8 places, in
individual events, and medals for the first three places in relays. These awards
will be presented
throughout the finals session. Medals for the top 3 highpoint distance (400
IM, 500, 1000, 1650 Free) swimmers.

The top eight high point winners for both girls and boys will be awarded a
plaque. The high point ceremony will take place on Sunday evening at the conclusion
of the session. Coaches are responsible for making sure their swimmer is present
to receive their award.

SCORING: Top 24 places:

Place:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

Individual:

32

29

28

27

26

25

24

23

20

18

17

16

15

14

13

12

9

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Relays:

64

58

56

54

52

50

48

46

40

36

34

32

30

28

26

24

18

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

WORKER & TIMERS: All teams will be given timing/work
assignments based on their number of entries. Teams that send back the sign
up sheet for
Officials
with their entry will get credit for those positions. The timing assignments
will be posted on the web page with ample time to get workers.

WARM-UPS: USA
Swimming warm-up policies will be in effect for the whole meet. Swimmers without
a coach must report to the Meet Referee before each session.
Diving will be prohibited during warm-ups except at the designated times. No
diving will be allowed, at any time, in the 6 lane warm-up course. Sprint lanes
will be open at the end of the warm-up session. Teams will be assigned warm-up
lanes for each session. Coaches must instruct their swimmers to obey the warm-up
rules.

COACHES NOTES: All coaches should check in with the control
office upon arrival to the pool. Coaches' packets will be available at the
beginning of
warm-ups
at each session. Each team will receive one complete meet program. Please turn
in relay cards in a timely fashion. There will be a coaches meeting on Friday
8 AM. Please do NOT ask to change entry times or events after the entry deadline.
There will be no deck entries. Coaches are responsible for making sure their
swimmers know when to swim. There will not be a bullpen, but heat sheets will
be posted throughout the pool deck and available in the control office. The
top 8 finalists will march out from a “ready area” during the Finals
Sessions. The meet will be run according to the 2003 USA Swimming Rules & Regulations.
The decisions of the Meet Referee as to procedures and conduct will be final.
There will be no shaving allowed anywhere on the facility. Lockers will not
be available for use by coaches or swimmers. Please respect the locker room
and facility.

CONCESSION: There will be a snack bar open at all sessions.

HOSPITALITY: Coaches and officials will be served breakfast
foods during Trials and a supper during the Finals session, with cold drinks
and snacks available
throughout the meet.